National Guardsman Pleads to Kiddie Porn

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (CN) – A Missouri National Guardsman admitted he used his DEA-issued laptop to possess child pornography. Matthew J. Barnes, 34, pleaded guilty Monday to one federal count of possession of child pornography. An Overland Park Police detective on the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force in March 2012 used peer-to-peer file-sharing software to search for computers sharing images of child pornography. When he detected a computer sharing six images of child pornography and “child erotica,” he tracked the computer’s location to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s offices in Overland Park, according to Barnes’ plea agreement . The DEA assigned the laptop to Barnes as he worked for the Missouri National Guard as an analyst for a regional drug interdiction program. The detective and two FBI agents went to the DEA office, where they obtained Barnes’s password, a thumb drive and his laptop, which contained a file-sharing program. Barnes admitted he used the program to search for child pornography. Agents found 19 images of child pornography. “Some of these images included sexually explicit conduct involving prepubescent minors,” according to the plea agreement. Barnes faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 5 years of supervised release.